I'm going to guess here because you didn't mention the animal, but is it because the rest of the world thinks this is a cute or harmless animal? It's because they don't understand how something as cute as a penguin can make you break out in cold sweats. That butterflies aren't pretty, harmless insects, but ravening monsters that live only to make you veer off the road by flying in front of you and plastering themselves to your windshield.

Most of us can understand phobias about potentially harmful things, like snakes and spiders. It's the more unusual ones, like yellow butterflies or My Little Pony that make us scratch our heads. Even so, if you tell me that you're terrified of butterflies, I won't suggest that you chaperone the fourth grade field trip to the butterfly farm, or give your children picture books of butterflies. (I've even heard of such severe phobias about certain things that the phobic person can't even stand to read the name of the phobia item. That they'll scream and throw books across the room if they come on it unexpectedly, and make someone else take the book out to the garbage.)

Just keep me away from spheroid sports objects flying through the air, please![/quote]

Yes, it is an animal that most people wouldn't find scary at all. Not one you would domesticate but you probably wouldn't freak out if it was scurrying down the street. That being said, I don't think I could actually HARM one. (Unless it was attacking my kids or something.) I'd be more likely to scream and run off.My oldest niece is finally beginning to understand. She has developed a sudden irrational fear of moths after she found one on her face one morning. Since then, they freak her out to no end. She actually apologized for teasing me when she was younger.

My peeve? Being called in to do a presentation for, say, 15 people, to find that it is scheduled in a room with barely space enough for 10, when you consider the chairs. Oh, chairs, you say? Well, we've got 7. Everyone else can just stand up for four hours straight, right? No?

Then, everyone stares at me, as if I should be able to solve the problem for them.

Really, people. I do not carry chairs in my pocket, nor magical expanding space. It's your facility, you should know how many people it can fit.

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My cousin's memoir of love and loneliness while raising a child with multiple disabilities will be out on Amazon soon! Know the Night, by Maria Mutch, has been called "full of hope, light, and companionship for surviving the small hours of the night."

When someone demands something that you own/can get/have made, with no compensation offered. I posted on FB that I was excited to make various batches of soap this weekend. The sister of one of my friends posted the comment "Your soap is amazing. Can I have some samples to try?". It's the only comment on one of my posts she's ever made. I do sometimes give away samples to friends, because I want them to tell me how a certain recipe has turned out, or if they like/dislike something about the soap or other product, but in those cases I will ask my friends "Hey, do you mind trying something out and letting me know what you think?". I generally don't give away things to people who demand them.

I've gotten the same sort of demand from people at work - I mentioned to someone that I was applying to work at my state's Ren Fest this year and she said, "Then you can get me free tickets!". Ah, no, that would not be why I'm applying to work there.

Vacations that go by way too quickly. It feels like it was just yesterday I picked my bf up from the train station but it was last Saturday. I had to take her back this afternoon and I miss her already.

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Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars. You have a right to be here. Be cheerful, strive to be happy. -Desiderata

When someone demands something that you own/can get/have made, with no compensation offered. I posted on FB that I was excited to make various batches of soap this weekend. The sister of one of my friends posted the comment "Your soap is amazing. Can I have some samples to try?". It's the only comment on one of my posts she's ever made. I do sometimes give away samples to friends, because I want them to tell me how a certain recipe has turned out, or if they like/dislike something about the soap or other product, but in those cases I will ask my friends "Hey, do you mind trying something out and letting me know what you think?". I generally don't give away things to people who demand them.

I've gotten the same sort of demand from people at work - I mentioned to someone that I was applying to work at my state's Ren Fest this year and she said, "Then you can get me free tickets!". Ah, no, that would not be why I'm applying to work there.

I don't think she demanded anything of you. She asked for some samples. Had she said, "Give me some samples to try" I would agree with you, but I don't think asking for some is demanding some.

I handed a hot cup of coffee to a customer. He sipped it and then tried to get his baby grandson to drink it. What part of "careful, it's hot" don't you understand, buddy ? It's a good thing his wife told him to not do that, although her reason was "the baby doesn't like coffee." I also had a customer stuff popcorn into the mouth of a baby that had no teeth yet and was barely old enough to sit up

Trying to keep my coffee away from little hands. My toddler will go for ANY drink in his eyesight so we really have to watch drinks around him, especially anything hot or alcoholic. He kept going for my Guinness tonight and well anytime during our trip when my friend and I ordered some of the black stuff. And the last night she was here we enjoyed some sangria and he kept going for our glasses, trying to get a taste.

Giving him a small taste doesn't discourage him either, but often has the opposite effect.

On an unrelated note, waking up and forgetting where you are. Last night we slept with the fan on in our room, exhaust fan in the hallway turned on, and the window open so when I woke in the middle of the night feeling rather chilly I thought I was still in a tent and when I opened my eyes to look for my friend I was disappointed to remember she was back home.

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Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars. You have a right to be here. Be cheerful, strive to be happy. -Desiderata

When someone demands something that you own/can get/have made, with no compensation offered. I posted on FB that I was excited to make various batches of soap this weekend. The sister of one of my friends posted the comment "Your soap is amazing. Can I have some samples to try?". It's the only comment on one of my posts she's ever made. I do sometimes give away samples to friends, because I want them to tell me how a certain recipe has turned out, or if they like/dislike something about the soap or other product, but in those cases I will ask my friends "Hey, do you mind trying something out and letting me know what you think?". I generally don't give away things to people who demand them.

I've gotten the same sort of demand from people at work - I mentioned to someone that I was applying to work at my state's Ren Fest this year and she said, "Then you can get me free tickets!". Ah, no, that would not be why I'm applying to work there.

The only thing we here at ehell demand are pictures of your beautifully crafted soaps!

When someone demands you "SMILE!" as if you are a trained seal on stage doing tricks.

I'm walking down my work hallway today (the back hallway leading to the bathrooms), concentrating on a serious work problem. A coworker approaches me and yells out, "SMILE ALREADY!" I just stare at her and say, "No." She then grumbles about how I ruined her day. If all it takes to ruin your day is to see a coworker not smiling, then you need to examine your own life.

I just loathe when people pull that crap. It's so rude. It's especially egregious given that one of our coworkers just unexpectedly lost a child and she found out about it at work. You would think that knowing that reality might make a person a little more aware that people in the workplace may not be smiling for very good reasons.

My oldest son came in the house yesterday afternoon saying "I was wishing something but I know Mom will say no..." to his brother. Now neither of them are the best at monitoring their volume indoors so I don't know if he was saying it so I could hear it or if he just was being loud in general. I said "What is that?"

"Well some kids in my class have fbook accounts and I'd really like to sign up now, too." We have discussed this before and the more they say stuff like "I wish I could have this" when they know my feelings on it, the more irritated I get. My son just turned 12 last month and I've told him the TOS for fbook say they can sign up when they're 13 and I've told him that even when he turns 13 I'll still hesitate to let him sign up. When I do there's going to be a lot of rules in place. (Don't say anything about when family won't be home, vacation pictures aren't to be shared until you get home, no vaguebooking, no posting when you're mad, and many more) Not to mention he is to friend both DH and I so we can keep an eye on him and what he's posting and sharing and if we say to delete something he is to do it without question.

Course with all those rules he may decide it's not worth it. LOL. I have friends who have signed their kids up to play the games before they're 13 but I just don't want to give my kids one more reason to be on the computer and not outside. That and their computer in the office isn't even working.

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Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars. You have a right to be here. Be cheerful, strive to be happy. -Desiderata

I didn't allow my son to be on facebook until his 13th birthday, then I set up his account and handed him the user name and password. We have had a few incidents of inappropriate shares from one of his friends, but nothing major and it helps him keep in contact with some of his friends in other states and countries. We have a media limit per day in effect regardless.

I didn't allow my son to be on facebook until his 13th birthday, then I set up his account and handed him the user name and password. We have had a few incidents of inappropriate shares from one of his friends, but nothing major and it helps him keep in contact with some of his friends in other states and countries. We have a media limit per day in effect regardless.

I'm going to take a page from some of my teen cousins who do not use their last name in their fbook user name in order to make them harder to find. I don't even use my last name, just first and middle. So when my son is 13 I'll set it up with the appropriate privacy settings, name and password and let him know that he's not to change any of them without talking about it first and there will be consequences for inappropriate use.

He's a good kid so I can't see him doing anything deliberately inappropriate, honestly. I'm more worried about him saying things like "We're leaving for vacation tomorrow!" and just doing things without thinking.

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Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars. You have a right to be here. Be cheerful, strive to be happy. -Desiderata